Virginia is the state with the largest teacher pay gap

In recent months, teachers in multiple states, including West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, and Colorado, have gone on strike to protest low wages and insufficient resources in public schools. With many states cutting school funding, teachers are experiencing economic pressure inside and outside of the classroom and are voicing their need for change.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average annual salary of teachers in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools is $58,950. Although teachers’ salaries have risen nominally over the past 50 years, when analyzed in “constant dollars” based on the consumer price index, salaries have actually been decreasing since 2009. For comparison, the average annual earnings for workers over the age of 18 who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in the U.S. is $77,526, resulting in a national teacher pay gap of -24%.

With this in mind, Credit Sesame wanted to see how the pay gap varied from state to state. Its researchers calculated the Teacher pay gap as the percent difference between the Average annual salary for teachers in each state(taken from the National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics, 2016-17) and the Average annual earnings for all college graduates (calculated for each state using the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey 1-year Public Use Microdata Samples). Then each state and the District of Columbia was ranked from the highest teacher pay gap to the lowest.

Based on the analysis, the teacher pay gap is in the teachers’ favor in only two states: Vermont and Alaska. The states with the highest teacher salaries are in the populous, heavily urban states of New York, California, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, and Connecticut, while the states with the lowest teacher salaries are in the mostly rural states of Colorado, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and South Dakota. States with lowest teacher salaries also tended to have higher teacher pay gaps.

Here are the states with the largest teacher pay gap:

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25. Idaho

Teacher pay gap: -23.5%

Average annual salary for teachers: $47,504

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $62,060

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17:-6.8%

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24. New Mexico

Teacher pay gap: -24.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $47,500

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $62,615

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 1.8%

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23. Kentucky

Teacher pay gap: -25.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $52,339

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $69,885

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 0.4%

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22. West Virginia

Teacher pay gap: -25.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $45,701

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $61,008

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -8.9%

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21. New Jersey

Teacher pay gap: -25.3%

Average annual salary for teachers: $69,623

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $93,161

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -6.6%

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20. Connecticut

Teacher pay gap: -25.9%

Average annual salary for teachers: $72,561

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $97,986

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -2.2%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

19. Arkansas

Teacher pay gap: -25.9%

Average annual salary for teachers: $48,616

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $65,575

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 1.6%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

18. Louisiana

Teacher pay gap: -26.2%

Average annual salary for teachers: $50,000

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $67,767

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 5.4%

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17. Kansas

Teacher pay gap: -26.4%

Average annual salary for teachers: $47,984

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $65,198

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -4.3%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

16. South Carolina

Teacher pay gap: -26.8%

Average annual salary for teachers: $48,598

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $66,430

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -6.0%

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15. Missouri

Teacher pay gap: -27.6%

Average annual salary for teachers: $48,293

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $66,714

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -5.5%

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14. Georgia

Teacher pay gap: -27.7%

Average annual salary for teachers: $54,602

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $75,515

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -7.1%

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13. Alabama

Teacher pay gap: -28.4%

Average annual salary for teachers: $48,868

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $68,241

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -7.1%

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12. Mississippi

Teacher pay gap: -28.4%

Average annual salary for teachers: $42,925

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $59,918

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -6.0%

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11. South Dakota

Teacher pay gap: -28.4%

Average annual salary for teachers: $42,668

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $59,577

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 2.4%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

10. North Carolina

Teacher pay gap: -29.9%

Average annual salary for teachers: $49,837

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $71,098

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -11.8%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

9. Tennessee

Teacher pay gap: -30.4%

Average annual salary for teachers: $48,456

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $69,636

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -6.9%

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8. Utah

Teacher pay gap: -31.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $47,244

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $68,547

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -5.7%

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7. Oklahoma

Teacher pay gap: -31.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $45,245

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $65,660

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: 0.9%

Photo Credit: Richard Theis / Alamy Stock Photo

6. Washington

Teacher pay gap: -31.8%

Average annual salary for teachers: $54,147

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $79,418

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -8.0%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

5. Florida

Teacher pay gap: -32.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $49,407

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $72,804

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -6.1%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

4. Texas

Teacher pay gap: -34.5%

Average annual salary for teachers: $52,575

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $80,261

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -2.4%

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3. Arizona

Teacher pay gap: -34.7%

Average annual salary for teachers: $47,403

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $72,636

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -10.4%

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2. Colorado

Teacher pay gap: -37.1%

Average annual salary for teachers: $46,506

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $73,992

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -15.0%

Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

1. Virginia

Teacher pay gap: -40.2%

Average annual salary for teachers: $51,049

Average annual earnings for all college graduates: $85,432

Teacher salary change 1999-00 to 2016-17: -8.1%

Methodology & full results

Teacher salary and salary change statistics are from the National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics, 2016-17. Both are in constant 2016-2017 dollars. Average annual earnings for all college graduates was computed for each state using the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey 1-year Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). Only adults over age 18 with a bachelor’s degree or higher were included in the analysis. The Teacher pay gap was calculated as the percent difference between the Average annual salary for teachers and the Average annual earnings for all college graduates.